Attachment device



Feb. 12, 1952 A. E. DU BOIS 2,585,302

ATTACHMENT DEVICE Filed Oct. 15. 1949 28 28 ii 24 32 34 2'6 20 2e PEG 5 INVENTOR ARTHUR E. DUBOIS y 51.4fm

ATTORNEYS Patented Feb. 12, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ATTACHMENT DEVICE Arthur E. Du Bois, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

' Application October 1 5 1949, Serial No. 121,607

This invention relates to an attachment device or gripping device, and particularly to such a device especially adapted for use in connection with a penetrable or deformable article such as a bar of soap or the like.

, In my co-pending application, Serial No. 104,086, filed July 11, 1949, I described an ar- 5 Claims. i ci. 45 -2s) rangement for supporting a bar of soap on the end of a cord. with the cord leading through an inverted dome-like housing to a reel, so the soap could be suspended within the housing when not in use, where it would be out of sight and readily dry out, and so the soap could be drawn from the housing for use.

This arrangement has proved highly satisfactory with regard to its utility and for effecting an economy in the use of soap and results in a,

much heater arrangement than soap dishes uti-,

lized heretofore.

In the application referred to, the soap was connected to the cord by skewering the bar from end to end or from side to side by a special needle, and then drawing a loop of the cord through the skewer hole by means of a special hook. The loop of cord so drawn through the bar of soap was retained in position by a pair of beads on the cord resting against the opposite faces of the soap.

While this manner of skewering the bar of soap to the cord provided a satisfactory method of supporting the soap, it nevertheless presented a number of practical disadvantages. ample, it was necessary to supply the skewering needle and special hook with the soap holding arrangement, and these articles were likely to be mislaid or become lost. Also, some soaps are rather hard and it becomes diflicult to pushthe skewering needle through from end to end. The needle would sometimes bend, or the soap would break, and, in either case, it was a somewhat dangerous operation because of the chance of sticking the needle into the hand holding the;

bar of soap.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide a device for attaching a cord' to a bar of soap for an arrangement such as described above which-overcomes the aforementioned difl.

for securing it to the said bar of soap or similar article.

It is also an object to provide an attachment or gripping device for connecting a cord to a bar of soap which has a tendency to prevent the bar of soap from breaking up when it becomes worn down and is rather thin. 1 1

These and other objects and advantages'will become more apparent upon reference to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure l is a side elevational view of a soap holding arrangement adapted for use in connection with the attachment device of this invention; v

Figure 2 is a side view drawn at somewhat greater scale of the attachment device showing the gripping fingers thereof retracted to inoperative position;

Figure 3 is a sectional view of an attachment device showing it in position on a bar of soap;

Figure 4 is a perspective view showing the device being attached to a bar of soap; and

Figure 5 is a side view of the bar of soap of Figure 4 showing the device after it has been attached to the bar of soap.

Referring to the drawings, the arrangement shown in Figure 1 comprises a bracket [0 adapted for attaching to a, wall and having projecting therefrom the neck l2 from which is suspended the inverted housing member l4. Within bracket it is a reel suchas is employed with window shades and the like, and leading therefrom is a cord l6 that passes along neck l2 and downwardly through housing M for connection with a bar of soap l8.

The device of this invention is indicated at 20 in Figure l and forms the means for effecting connection of cord l6 with the bar of soap l8.

Reference to Figures 2, 3, 4, and 5 will reveal that attachment device 20 comprises a bar-like body part 22 generally channel shapedin crosssection and with an intermediate partition-part 24 extending across the channel thereof, so that the back of the body part consists of two recesses extending inwardly from the ends of the said body part. 1

Mounted in the recesses in the back of the body part are a pair of arms 26, each of which is pivotedto the body part adjacent the intermediate partition 24, as by the pivot pins 28. Each arm has mounted thereon at its free end a finger or piercing prong 30 which is arcuately formed to the shape of a portion of a circle drawn about the associated pivot pin 28 as a center.

Fingers 3i) project through apertures in the bottom of body part 22 and are thusadapted to project beyond the bottom of the body part when the arms 26 are moved from their Figure 2 position to their Figure 3 position. Fingers 30 may be pointed and are thus adapted for piercing any suitable deformable article, such as a bar of soap.

Reference to Figure 3 will reveal that the underneath side of body part 22 is recessed, as at 32, so that the said body part has a peripheral rim extending downwardly therefrom. This is of merit in that the relatively small area of contact of the rim causes it to cut into the surface of the bar of soap and thus prevent shifting of 3 the attachment device on the said bar. This, in turn, prevents the fingers 38 from loosening their grip on the bar of soap, and once the device is attached thereto, it remains connected with the soap until the soap is worn away or the device is removed.

The intermediate partition 24 is preferably provided with a hole 34 through which cord [6 passes and is knotted, so that when the device is attached with the bar of soap, it forms a connection between the bar of soap and the cord.

It will be observed that the fingers 30 are substantially'co-planer and are relatively thin. Be-

cause of this, the soap can be worn down-very thin before it exposes the fingers and before it breaks away from the attachment device. It

will also be noted that the attachment device arms are then pressed firmly downwardly toward the body part, causing the fingers or piercing prongs to enter the bar of soap. The prongs may be wet to cause them to enter the bar of :soap:-more easily, if desired.

When the prongs have been moved down to the Figure 3 position, the attachment of the de- I vice-to the bar of'soap is complete.

.It'will 'be understood that the ends of the fingers or piercing prongs could be pointed if desired, in order to cause them to penetrate the bar of soap more readily, and could also comprise small barbs or the like to prevent them from slipping out of the soap, if found necessary.

'While the attachment device of this inven tion has been shown with two arms pivoted to the body at the center thereof and projecting outwardly, other arrangements of the device could be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. For example, the arms could substantia'lly be the same length as the body part, with "one being pivoted to the body part at one end, and the other at the other end.

The fingers in this case would be on the free ends-of the arms and would be substantially identical' with the fingers 39 illustrated, except they would be formed to a greater radius.

I have found plastic materials, both thermal setting and thermoplastic, to be quite satisfac-.

jtory as a material for constructing the body and arms, but it will be evident that these parts could be manufactured of metal, if so desired.

It will be understood that this invention is susceptible to modification in order to adapt it to diflerent usages and conditions, and, accordingly, it is desired to comprehend such modifications within this invention as may fall within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1.. In adevice of the nature described: a barlike body part, a pair of arms pivoted to said body "part adjacent the center thereof and movable from a position of angularity therewith to a position of parallelism therewith, and arcuate gripping fingers carried by said arms at their free ends, said fingers being co-planar and being formed as arcs of circles about the pivots for their respective arms.

2. In a device of the nature described: a barlike body part adapted for being placed against a bar of soap or the like, said body part being recessed on the side opposite its engagement with the 'said bar of soap or the like, a pair of arms in the recessed part of said body and pivoted thereto so as to be movable into a position of angularity with the body part, and arcuate piercing prongs connected with said arms at their free ends and extending through said body toward the side bearing against the said bar of soap or the like, said arms being contained within said recesses when moved from their position of angularity with the body part to a position of parallelism therewith.

3. In an attachment device of the nature described: a bar-like body part having a shallow recess in one side so as to form a rim around the said one side, a recess in the opposite side of said body, a pair of arms in such last mentioned recess pivoted to said body part adjacent the cen ter thereof, and arcuate piercing prongs carried by said arms adjacent their ends and projecting through said body part toward the said one side.

4. In an attachment device of the nature described: a bar-like body part substantially channel-shaped in cross-section and having a partition intermediate its ends interrupting the channel, an arm enclosed within each part of the channel and pivot means adjacent the partition connecting the arms to the body part, arcuate piercing prongs connected with the free ends of said arms and projecting downwardly through the bottom of said body part, said bottom being substantially planar, said piercing prongs being formed as arcs of circles struck about the pivots for the associated arms and being of such length that when said arms are positioned in their respective recesses the ends of the said prongs are spaced.

5. In an attachment device of the nature described: a bar-like body part substantially channel-shaped in cross-section and having a partition intermediate its ends interrupting the channel, an arm in each part of the channel of'a size to be contained entirely within the said part of the channel, pivot'means adjacent the partition connecting the arms to the body part, arcuate piercing prongs connected with the free ends of said arms and projecting downwardly through the bottom of said body part, said bottom being substantially planar, said piercing prongs being formed as arcs of circles struck about the pivots for the associated arms, and means in said partition for' connecting a cord or the like to said body part.

ARTHUR E. DU BOIS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 321,158 Thompson June 30, 1885 487,094 Oefinger Nov. 29, 1892 594,086 Irish Nov. 23, 1897 636,454 Rubira Nov. '7, 1899 839,337 Thomander Dec. 25, 1906 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 817,466 France May 24, 1937 

